Addressing machine



L. H. HANGEL.

ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1921.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

I NV EN TOR.

2 U/s H HANGEL if 7 H-JATTORNEY.

' To all whom it may concern PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS n. HANGEL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ADDRESSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

Application filed March 2, 1921. Serial No. 449,116.

Be it known that LOUIS citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Addressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to addressing machines for automatically taking stencil cards, or their equivalents, from a stack, and sequentially feeding them to a printing mechanism wherein pieces of mail matter receive the impressions of the respective stencils.

These addressing machines are commonly provided with electrically-controlled driving means for the printing mechanism, the circuits being completed by selector fingers which pass through prearranged holes or notches in the stencil cards, whereby only certain desired stencil cards, will print, the remainder of the stencil cards being permitted to pass through the printing mechanism without making impressions on the pieces of mail matter.

The invention herein set forth, involves means additional to the mechanisms of these known addressing machines for the attainment of results of new character, such as the visual indication of conditions under which a mach ne is operating, and the printing on the stencil cards of data relating to the work that is being performed, whereby said stencil cards will thereafter constitute permanent and available records showing the names of the addressees, the dates of the mailing of the letters and the nature of the correspondence.

These and other objects are attainable by machines embodying my invention which is hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which v Figure 1 is a plan view showing parts of the added improvements;

Figure 2- is a view showing certain parts in elevation;

Figure 3- is a'sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4' is a sectional view taken on the line 3v3 of Figure 2; D

Figure 5 is a view in elevation of the end of the usual inking means of an addressing machine, and also of the inking devices for my improved machine;

Figure 6 is a view of a stencil card adapt- H. HANGEL, a

'cordance with the original ed to co-operate with my improved machine;

Figures 7 and 8 are views showing fragments of stencil cards which have differently arranged notches, and

Figure 9 is a sectional view of a detail taken on the line 99 of Figure 1.

1 is the bed of the machine on which theoperative parts are mounted, and upon this bed are secured grooved guide strips 2 for the stencil cards 3 which are each provided with a stencil 4 of usual character.

5 is a frame for receiving and removably holding a secondary stencil plate 6 which is provided with a stencil 7 for printing data on the blank spaces of the stencil cards 3. This frame includes folded or grooved side bars 8 for receiving and retaining the edges of a secondary stencil plate, and these side bars are united by anend bar 9 which is curved around and under the edge 10 of the proximate guide strip 2, the free ends 11 of the frame being supported in a suit able manner by the other guide strip. The frame 5 is slightly spaced from the bed of the machine to allow the stencil cards to pass beneath it as they are fed through the machine. These stencil cards are made sufficiently large to admit of the printing thereon of data concerning the mailing of letters to listed correspondents, the dates of original letters, the dates of follow-up letters, and an identifying number assigned to letters in any particular group wherein the subjects are identical, so that on all stencil cards will ,aippear information in printed form concerning the facts of the previous correspondence and enable the operator to proceed intelligenltly and in ac- 12 is a selector bar attac ed to a bracket 13 which in turn is secured to a shaft 14 that is mounted to turn inan arm 15.

The selector bar has a series of holes, preferably four in number, which are designated by the reference characters 16, 17 18 and 19, and through these holes extend springpressed selectors or pins 20 (only one of which may be used provided it is shifted from one hole to another) for the purpose of making the electrical circuit complete and the printing mechanism operative in a usual manner. 21 is the spring for actuating each of the selectors.

The selector bar is also provided with a plurality (preferably four) screw-thi 'eaded The adjusting screw may holes 22' corresponding in number with the number of screw-threaded indicator pins 23.

The purpose of these pins is to afford a visual indication of'the number of groups.

into which the stencil, cards in the stack are divided, to thereby assist the operator in the manipulation of the l'nachine.v Instead of a plurality of indicators, only one may be used.

The stencil cards of the respective groups are provided with notches or holes, such as 24, 25 and 26, which, in cards of different groups, are non-coincident, whereby the cards of all of the roups, save one, are

obstacles to the comp etion of the electrical circuit to thereby make the operation of'the machine selective, as is usual. Said stencil cards are furthermore provided with a series of notches or holes 27 through which openings the indicator pins 23 may idly pass as the selector bar 12 moves up and down in the performance of normal functions.

30 is the usual lever arm which carries the doctor 31.

32 is a yoke on the ends 33 of which is mounted a U-shaped lever 34.- carrying at its free ends 35 an inking roll 36 for the secondary stencil plate 6. This inking roll has anadjustable bearing 36-. The main inking roller 37 is also mounted on the yoke 32, this being the inking roller which is used in machines of the type to which my invention is'applied. The lever 34 is retracted by the spring 28.

The thrust of the secondary inking roll 36 is produced by a screw 38 which bears against one of the ends 35 of the U-shaped lever 34, said screw being mounted in a sustaining block 40 which is a part of the bracket 41. The bracket has a slot 42 through which a sustainin screw 43 extends. be manipulated to allow the secondary inking roll to. remain idle, or to vary the degree secondary stencil card, as desired.

The operator in starting the machine stacks thei'stencil cards, placesa selector in .one of the multiple positions on the selector bar and starts the feeding mechanism of the machine, whereupon the selector under the influence of its spring, will pass through the notches or openings of those cards which are in alignment with said selector, thus completing the electrical circuit and causing the printin mechanism to act, all as immachines itherto known.

The action of the secondary stencil card is automatic if the screw 38 has been propof pressure on the e rly adjusted, the two inking rolls 36,37 being moved 1n unison by the actuating devices except when the screw is withdrawn tono longer actuate the secondary inking roll. v As successive groups of stencil cardshave completed their work, the indicator pin, (or pins if a plurality of. pins is used) will be set in position to appropriately indicate the number of such groups as have been active in printing addresses, enabling the operator to perceive how many more times the entire series of stencil cards must be run through the machine to complete the printing of addresses.

The subject matter of this application is not claimed in m No. 513,955, filed h ovember 9, 1921.

Having thus described my invention what I I claim is:

1. The combination with an addressing machine having means for selectively applying addresses to mail matter, of means for indicating the number of groups into which the addresses are divided. I

2. The combination with an addressing machine having means fonselectively applyingaddresses to mail matter, of visual groups into which means for indicating the the addresses are divided.

3. The combination with an addressing machine having an automatic control, of pins equal in number to the groups into which the addresses are divided for indicating the number of said groups.

4. A- printing or stencil plate havin in addition to the usual mechanism-controlling notches or holes, other notches or holes for indicatin thenumber of groups into which a stack 0 stencil cards is divided. 5. The combination with an addressing machine having means for selectively ap-. plying addresses to mail matter, of a print--- ing mechanism for recording data on one of the printing instrumentalities.

6. The combination with an addressing machine havingmeans for feeding stencil plates therethrough, of a printin mechanism for recording dataon sai stencil cards.

7. -The combination with a machiiie for co-pending application selectively applyin addresses to mail mat-.

ter, of a stencil car for recording data, and an inking roll associated with said stencil. In testimony whereofI aflix my signature .in the presence of two witnesses. I

LOUIS H. HANGEL. lVit-nesses STANLEY A. PE'I'I'IBONE,

N. H. KADING. 

